Despite inauspicious beginnings, I am generally well-disposed to the legions of aid workers who flock to the occupied territories to alleviate the suffering of the local populace. Their cause is just, their aim is true – regardless of the brickbats hurled their way by the likes of NGO Monitor and other such detractors. Dropping everything in their home countries and relocating halfway round the world to help those who can't help themselves are qualities that ought to be admired by anyone with an interest in promoting global tolerance and goodwill among men.

However, there are occasions when, even with the best will in the world, those who have so selflessly devoted their time and energy to fighting the good fight show their true colours in the most alarming of ways. A case in point is the raging battle that developed on the RamallahRamallah mailing list this weekend, in response to a fairly innocuous, run-of-the-mill inquiry by one of the group's members.

"Is there a proper, western-style gym in Ramallah?" began the query. "If so, where is it?" Nothing too provocative there, although in the uber-sensitive forum of the aid workers' foreign legion, such a turn of phrase was always going to be a red rag to this particular herd of bulls. And so it proved, with a two-pronged attack immediately launched by a pair of disgusted-of-Scandinavia respondents:

"You forgot to add: 'where only white people go,'" spat one girl. "So it can't be 'proper' if not 'western-style'? If you miss western styles that much, get your ass out of here and keep it in your western world." Heady stuff, but nothing compared with the next outburst: "What's a 'proper, western-style gym'? Something like 'proper, western-style democracy'? Anyway, I'm sure/hope you didn't mean to offend – there are lots of nice gyms in Ramallah … and if you adjust your words/attitude you might even make some A-rab friends there."

With the bit between their collective teeth now, more outraged members dived into the fray, determined to stamp out the spectre of racism and colonialism that they feared was haunting their site, and their community at large. "While I am not a historian of gyms, I do think that the TV and machine 'style' of a modern gym could fairly be attributed to the western world," posited another, more contemplative, poster, before attempting some armchair analysis of the original user's mindset. "Quite what a non-western-style gym would be I'm not sure, and it may have been this fear of the unknown that led to the selection of the adjective."

(At this point I waded in, somewhat unnecessarily, but hoping to at least take the sting out of the thread's tail: "I am a historian of gyms -–my book Gymnasia Throughout the Ages –from Plato's Push-up Palace to Farringdon's Fitness First will be published in the spring. There are two chapters devoted to the clash of civilisations as seen through the eyes of bodybuilders, centring on Saladin's inaugural Mr Universe competition and the counter-tournament, Mr Galactic, sponsored by Richard the Lionheart. I hope that all who are participating in this latest argument will find the answers to their queries within the text of my work." Unsurprisingly, my aside was roundly ignored, as the furious respondents got on with their business of driving out the demon within their midst.)

"When I became a member, I thought that the subjects of this group were interesting and more or less work-related," complained a dismayed Italian, "but now I have my box full of emails of someone selling cars, other asking for gyms – very 'interesting' topics!!! Where are we: in Tel Aviv? Or in Beverly Hills?"

The implication was clear – only in the decadent west (Beverly Hills) or Ramallah's evil twin city (Tel Aviv) would anyone be so self-centred or have so much time on their hands as to inquire politely about gymnasia at all, when here – in the real, gritty world of fighting the power from dawn till dusk – frivolities such as personal fitness come a long way down the list of priorities. In case anyone was in any doubt, the next reply ignored the implicit sarcasm of the last post, instead using a curious blend of upper- and lower-case letters to ram home the harsh reality of life on the wrong side of the green line: "No, you are in a place where people are still trying to LIVE DESPITE NOT being in Tel Aviv."

The battle is still raging even as I type, three days later. While to the majority of those responding, the wording of the initial gym inquiry spoke volumes about the apparent bigotry of the user, in fact it is the hysterical, hyper-sensitive reaction of the other members of the group which is most indicative of a deep-rooted malaise in the NGO world.

I am regularly accused of self-hatred on the threads of Cif, but nothing I've ever said comes close to the outpourings of those above, for whom their western upbringings causes such despair and bitterness. Those leaving such caustic replies are so assailed with guilt for their European and American backgrounds, so desperate to prove that they are freed from the salubrious shackles that used to bind them, that they will use any opportunity – however unwarranted – to trumpet their reborn statuses to the world again and again.

I've seen it countless times, on both sides of the barricades. In Ramallah, there is a certain breed of westerner who, upon meeting a fellow light-skinned member of the human race, will nod disinterestedly and mumble a brief greeting, yet as soon as a Palestinian enters the room, literally swoons at their feet and hangs adoringly on their every word. Similarly, the fetishising of Israeli soldiers is a regrettable trait latent in many, from day-tripping tourist to seasoned commentators such as Julie Burchill and beyond, as though showering indiscriminate love over anyone in olive green combat gear should be de rigueur behaviour in the Middle Eastern petting zoo.

That's not to say that there aren't plenty of good-hearted, well-intentioned supporters on either side of the divide. However, when the mob-mentality masses descend like jackals on a fellow westerner for simply daring to casually inquire about Ramallah's gym facilities, it sends an alarming message about how deeply into the radical, save-the-world-but-discard-my-past mentality many in the region have sunk. Plato would be spinning in his push-up palace.